This application claims the priority of German application 198 47 384.2, filed in Germany on Oct. 14, 1998, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to a cushioning for the seat part and/or the backrest of a vehicle seat. Preferred embodiments of the invention relate to cushioning for the seat part and/or the backrest of a vehicle seat, comprising: a cushioning layer, a ventilation layer which covers a top side of the cushioning layer, through which ventilation layer air can flow and which particularly consists of a wide-meshed spaced knit, a cushioning cover which spans a cushioning surface and in which quilt seams for forming the cushioning contours are made which penetrate the ventilation layer, and at least one electric ventilator or fan for the active ventilation of the cushioning, which fan is accommodated in an air duct penetrating the cushioning layer from its underside facing away from the ventilation layer to its top side.
In the case of a known cushioning of this type (German Patent Document DE 196 28 698 C1, corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,902,014 issued May 11, 1999), for the purpose of improving the seat air-conditioning comfort, particularly with a view to a fast cooling of the cushioning surface heated by sun radiation and an effective removal of transpiration moisture, a plurality of miniature fans are arranged in the cushioning layer in a distributed manner, which are each accommodated in an air duct penetrating the cushioning layer from its underside to the ventilation layer. The distribution of the fans takes place such that a uniform laminar venting of the ventilation layer is ensured. Since, for reasons of comfort, all miniature fans must receive a suitable vibration damping, the technical expenditures are considerable, which results in relatively high manufacturing costs, so that this actively ventilated cushioning is used only in high-priced passenger cars.
It is an object of the invention to design a cushioning with an active seat ventilation of the initially mentioned type in a constructively simple manner with a view to a manufacturing at more reasonable cost.
According to the invention, this object is achieved by providing a cushioning of the above-noted type, wherein the at least one air duct with the integrated fan is arranged in an area of a quilt seam such that the air flowing out of the air duct flows on both sides of the quilt seam into the ventilation layer.
The cushioning according to the invention has the advantage that, as the result of the arrangement of the at least one fan in the area of a quilt seam, which, if it does not completely block an air flow through the ventilation layer, nevertheless hinders it considerably, the cushioning sections can be ventilated equally well and effectively on both sides of the quilt seam by means of only a single fan. As the result, the number of the fans required for the ventilation of the cushioning and the number of the required vibration-damped suspensions in the cushioning is reduced and is limited only to one or two fans, depending on how many quilt seams exist in the cushioning.
In the case of simple seat cushionings, for example, in the case of low-cost full-foam seats, only a single transverse quilting exists as a rule, so that only a single fan is required. In order to achieve the same ventilation output as many small miniature fans, a larger fan with an increased air flow rate can be used which, with respect to the manufacturing and mounting costs, still remains significantly below the costs for a plurality of miniature fans to be integrated individually in the seat cushioning, particularly because the vibration damping is easier to achieve in the case of a larger fan.
Advantageous features of preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in this specification and in the claims.
According to an advantageous feature of preferred embodiments of the invention, the air duct is cut such into the cushioning layer that a quilting wire required for making the quilt seam crosses the air duct approximately in the center on its ventilation-layer-side mouth. As the result of this arrangement of the air duct, it is ensured that approximately symmetrical cushioning sections created by the quilting are ventilated with the same intensity.
According to an advantageous feature of preferred embodiments of the invention, in the area of the ventilation-layer-side air duct mouth, a blocking layer is placed onto the top side of the ventilation layer facing away from the air duct mouth, the surface of the blocking layer being larger than the clear opening of the air duct mouth. The blocking layer preferably consists of an airtight material and is perforated. As the result of this covering of the top side of the ventilation layer in the immediate air outlet area of the fan, the air is forced to spread over a wide surface into the ventilation layer and to uniformly ventilate the cushioning surface. In order to achieve in this case a continuous air flow in the ventilation layer, according to an advantageous feature of preferred embodiments of the invention, air outflow ducts for the air exiting of the air flowing through the ventilation layer are provided in the cushioning layer which lead out on the top and bottom side of the cushioning layer and are arranged at the largest possible distance from the ventilation-layer-side air duct mouth of the air duct with the integrated fan.
According to certain preferred embodiments of the invention, the fan is embedded at least partially in a rubberized hair layer which surrounds the ventilation-layer-side mouth area of the air duct. By this constructive measure, a very effective and low-cost vibration damping of the fan is achieved. Independently of the arrangement of the air ducts on one quilt seam respectively which reduces the number of fans, this type of vibration damping already results in noticeable savings. However, in conjunction with the quilt-seam-oriented arrangement of the fans, this type of vibration damping considerably reduces the manufacturing costs for the cushioning as a whole. As the result of the fastening of the fan housing in the rubberized-hair layer, which, according to preferred embodiments of the invention, preferably takes place by gluing, and the positioning of the rubberized-hair layer in the recess of the cushioning, the mounting of the fan, on the one hand, is very simple and time-saving and, on the other hand, the fan is integrated in the cushioning layer in a vibration-damped and protected manner. The bottom side of the air duct can be protected by covering grid plates.
If, according to another advantageous feature of preferred embodiments of the invention, the fan housing is constructed in the section covered by the rubberized-hair layer in an air-permeable manner, for example, provided with axial air outlet slots, as the result of the embedding of the fan in the air-permeable hair layer, a wide-surface air guidance can be achieved because the air also flows radially out of the fan and flows into the ventilation layer while being widely distributed over the rubberized-hair layer.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.